the exponential progression of Argie.

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Prior to November 1st, it seemed like our progress had been slow-moving, or at least when correlated with how quickly the days pass and how fast our move-in date (December 1st!) is approaching. Yet, I think our expectations and results are corresponding now.This post could have easily been five separate posts, but who’s got time for that? Not us!

Progress in the last few weeks since we have been on the grid includes:

laid a new sub-floor under about 1/3 of the floor,

installed brand-new hardwood flooring,

working too fast.proof that I help sometimes.I even get to use the tools.das nail gun.making sure it all looks good before it becomes permanent.the finished product: a real wood floor!

built a custom bed-frame (complete with plenty of under bed storage space, it’ll be our “attic”),

the frame in progress.manly man! (this is the platform that will support the mattress on the frame).frame, finished.the bed, so far! the new comforter will arrive this week.

made covers for the wheel wells,

built an extension for the kitchen counter (from recycled barn wood Aunt Stacy and UK helped us to obtain – thanks, guys!) which will serve as additional counter space, a table, and a desk,

this is the barn wood pre-planer“before” barn wood close-up.barn wood table, with planing, sanding, and a few coats of min-wax.table, side-view (can see the wheel well covers underneath, too).

celebrated my 31st birthday!

birthday swag.funky lights for a funky birthday camper.

spray-foamed and put insulation in all “holes” or on places that get a bit drafty,

hooked up the hot water heater, did some minor plumbing work and dug a trench for the gray water (even though this is a single sentence, it was three full days of work, I assure you, the water almost works, we’re getting there…)

Matt insists on (some) action shots.getting the water lines installed into the water heater.safety first!doing something with the thingy.our brand-new, tank-less water heater!water from the tap to the trailer.24-foot-long trench for the gray water, hand-dug by yours truly.

constructed two-sided, insulated curtains (inner layers were constructed with recycled, old blankets, courtesy of the Pellmann’s attic) for the windows (with quite a bit of sewing help from DP herself) next to our new bed area, hoping to keep the cold that radiates from the single-pane windows at bay.

Oh, and we spent a very cold night in Argie! I believe the low that evening got into the high 20s? There was definitely frost on the ground when we stepped outside in the morning. The heated blanket was nice, but getting motivated to get out of bed in the morning was a struggle.

This is what prompted us to finish the process of making sure all cracks/holes were sealed and in making the insulated curtains. In addition, we have purchased an “infrared” space heater in the meantime which we will have the opportunity to test out this week; it boasts “rugged heat” which I hope it will provide!

The progress feels so much more tangible now that we have a floor and are building furniture to go into it. I’ve already started to move things over this past weekend (thank goodness for the new storage under the bed) and I’m super thankful for a teacher’s schedule during a holiday week to help Matt to finish some projects (i.e. figure out the rest of the plumbing, closet building, investigate the gas line, etc.) and further get settled in a bit. I can’t believe it’s (finally) happening!

Also, it’s Thanksgiving tomorrow and we’re happy to have some down time with Matt’s family. His brother and sister-in-law (who we ADORE) will be in town this weekend and we couldn’t be more excited!! Really, we have so much to be grateful for and despite our exhaustion due to long-hours put into this project and our full-time jobs/obligations/etc., we couldn’t be happier with our lives at this point.

We continue to be so thankful for this opportunity and all of the love, support, and positivity we’ve received from family, friends and coworkers along the way: thanks to all of you for reading the blog, encouraging us, and asking about Argie when you see us – it is much appreciated and helps to keep us going! We are so lucky to be surrounded with such positive people in our daily lives, both near and far.